What I’m Craving + Delicious Links

Delicious links & What I’m Craving is back! In this moment, I’m really craving Asian food. Thai, sushi, and Vietnamese are all cuisines which still aren’t super-popular in Italy (sushi is becoming more so).

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen the delicious sushiritto (literally, a sushi burrito) I had while in San Francisco, and I tend to make it a stop when I can get back there. Not exactly sushi, not really a burrito, but really fresh and super delicious.

That’s what I’m craving. And check out my past cravings. Read on for some Delicious Links!

Now for Delicious Links:

Corn on the cob. Can we talk about how much I’ve obsessed about this recently? I made it a mission to search it out this summer, and while it’s not common in Italy, I managed to ferret out a few reliable sources. I roll those hot ears of corn on top of my favorite French butter with salt crystals and then grind some black pepper on top. Now I feel that I can get them semi-reliably, I’m looking at lots of variations to experiment with.

Sweet Corn and Zucchini Pie from Pinch of Yum (I actually tried this one already – pretty good! I would look at reducing the cheese in my next version)

I’m trying to work on reducing my possessions, and while I’ve decided an Ottolenghi cookbook would be my next cookbook acquisition, for now it’s a no-go. I’ve eaten at his shops in London several times and have always been impressed how simple, fresh, and delicious the food has been. In the meantime I’ve discovered he shares some recipes on his site and have been contenting myself with them. This spring salad is simple, fresh, and so green!

I have always loved Vietnamese food – pho anyone? And lately I’ve become a fan of bò bún / Bún bò, the Vietnamese rice noodle salad, so I love that David Lebovitz has broken down how to make it at home. Also, hot tip – he has a new version of his Paris Pastry app available & it’s highly recommended. If anyone knows pastries in Paris, it’s David. And it’s only 99c through this Friday! Get the app.

Growing up, I had strong affinity* for macaroni & cheese. *I’m trying not to use obsession yet again in this post, but let’s call it what it was, okay? And not just any brand, but that blue box from Kraft. I even received some macaroni & cheese in one of my first care packages living here in Italy. We ate every bite. So I’m equally excited to see Shutterbean share 10 ways to doctor up Annie’s Macaroni & Cheese – I love seeing the variations, and they remind me of the “Hamburger Helper”-ish version I had with relatives in Michigan, and the “Mac & Crack” version I created myself with salsa & black olives added. Yum.

I was making Chinese dumplings recently, and I didn’t really realize there are so many different types of soy sauce. Food52 breaks it down in All About Soy Sauce.

Sandwiches can be a big hit or a big miss for me. The bread can make or break the sandwich, and the tiny ecosystem which is created in the sandwich is very fragile; a potentially delicious mix of texture, flavor, and moisture which doesn’t always work. I liked Serious Eats’ roundup of 25 Sandwich Recipes they Love for a closer look at some of those combinations.

Comments

Two sets of friends here in central Umbria gave us fresh ears of corn from their garden this summer, but all of it was tough and rubbery when cooked and more or less shoe leather on the grill. Maybe this is why corn on the cob hasn’t caught on over here? Now if we could just import some Texas sweet corn… :)

I’m not totally sure where the ears I’m getting are coming from – I’ve seen them twice in my (semi-big) supermarket, then never again, and then it’s a pretty sure thing to find them at the ‘international’ fruit/veg stand at the street market…maybe those are imported! :O